Pricing can also be a tip-off to spotting fake Cuban cigars. This is the familiar seal you see on all boxes of handmade cigars from Central America. More attention should be made on the CIGAR in this aticle How it feels, how the cap looks, the colors, etc. Some fake Cohibas are presented this way, too. Lets keep in mind why fake Cuban cigars even exist. Your email address will not be published. A genuine box of Cuban cigars should haveallof the following five attributes: Not unlike counterfeit cigar bands, the bottom of the box may be missing some of this key information; it could have typos, and may even be printed with different fonts. The third type, used from 2008/2009 to nowadays, it features both of the two writings previously seen, with the addition of the 3 letters D.O.P., w. hich means Denominacion de Origina Protegida. Apart from the issues weve discussed about packaging, one way to determine if this is an authentic Esplndido is to smoke it. If given the opportunity, take a cigar out of its box and put it to the test of your senses. Un-banded cigars are often sold on street corners in Cuba to unsuspecting tourists. Originally this green and white stamp came in three sizes: Large (~ 2 1/2 wide), Small (~1 1/4 wide), and Miniature (~ 13/16 wide). These boxes often carry the Cohiba brand. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The phrase often repeated is, "No Cuban cigars come in a glass lid box.", so don't buy them. The experience of buying a Cuban cigar in Cuba may be overwhelming for some. The first concerns the analysis of the band, if it is present (very old cigars may not have a band). What do you look for? Cuba releases three per year, and those releases are all documented on this website. The inside hinges are branded with the word Cohiba. The box bottoms are covered in felt, unlike most other brands that are exposed wood. Pricing can also be a tip-off to spotting fake Cuban cigars. With overpriced Cuban cigars, potential buyers will basically sell themselves on the fake cigars by thinking that well, its so expensive. It is a common tourist trap on cruises and resorts around the world. Learn how to tell whether thePartags you're smoking is authentic or fake. By cutting the cigar open and unrolling the leaves, it will be fairly simple to see if the leaves used are whole or not. Also, Cubas coat of arms will show in the middle and the seal itself has a reaction if directly exposed to ultraviolet light. Reading Time: 3 minutes Let all things be done with charity, is Southern Draw Cigars motto for its annual IGNITE program that helps those in need. For example, the head on the label should be a holograph. The lids are solid. Additionally, the box is very difficult to replicate. Our support team is ready to answer all your questions. Straight-sided Cuban cigars (i.e. Its important to note that the squares are full and do not get cut off either on the top or bottom row. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is frustrated with Twitter. On the bottom, you want to make sure you find a stamp of approval. The Cohibas have the stickers in the opposite corners than described but the R & Js have tehm in the correct corners. Similar to US currency, Cuban cigar boxes come with a lot of extra makers to help distinguish them from fakes. They are shrink wrapped for easier transport .If the bands are ok should I go for it? This is a strong sign of counterfeiting. They have long been considered the height of luxury in the cigar industry and have become synonymous with the lavish lifestyle alongside brands like Rolex and Bentley. Look for the Habanos label in the top-right corner of the box, the Cuba guarantee seal (complete with hologram and box code) on the left and stamps on the bottom. Has anyone ever given you a Cuban cigar and bragged that it was really, really good? And it was wrapped in cellophane? That is, unless youre approached by a hustler who will sell you a cheap box of so-called Cubans while vacationing, most likely somewhere in the Caribbean. If the hustlers are going through the trouble of counterfeiting the seals, you can bet the bands have also been faked. So, clue. DOP means Denominacin de Origen Protegida, or Denomination of Protected Origin in Spanish. Cigar documents Your access is restricted because of your age. Shorter leaves will always be present, since during construction the leaves are also broken and the shorter parts are used to ensure that the cigar has a homogeneous filling. True, a lot of cigars made outside of Cuba many of these same attributes, but if your Cuban cigars are missing all or most of these attributes, theyre most likelynotof Cuban origin. Unless youve actually smoked a good number ofgenuineCuban cigars its easy to be fooled, especially if the counterfeiter got everything right but the cigars. and BOTTOM LINE, besides taste, is HOW long the flavor LASTS. The exquisite collection of Premium cigars with well-maintained high-quality standards at cigar.pk. We are available via email, phone, or chat. The Cohiba brand was offered to the general market in 1982 in the form of a Panatela, 4.5 x 26. (See pictures at the bottom of the page). For example, the popular Cuban brands like Cohiba, Partagas, Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, et al., all feature the Habanos S.A. seal on the top right-hand corner of the box. So, its also the biggest target for counterfeiters. In counterfeit cigars, filling is usually very low. 5. The white squares should be in nine rows with no square being cut off. Cellophane, however, is not the only indication that a Cuban cigar is fake. But enough about the hustle; lets get to the heart of how to spot fake Cuban cigars. In 2014, the Cohiba Behikes band got even more complex, with added imagery and a security strip on the back to make it even more of a challenge to counterfeiters. As well, Cohiba's have the triple fermented wrappers that are usually quite soft and mild. To help prevent this, in 2010 Habanos S.A. designed a new seal using watermarks, a super-strong adhesive, a hologram on the right side of the seal, and a bar code on the left. As Gordon Mott explains in his article 50 Years of Cohiba how the brands aesthetics have changed: Cohiba's labels and bands have evolved, but in one form or another that same Indian head has remained part of the design, even if it has become less prominent over time. The fleur-de-lis should be perfectly centered. Discover the world of exquisite smoking with Pakistan's largest collection of cigars, tobacco products and accessories from the greatest Cuban and non-Cuban cigar brands. Now, about that box of fake Arturo Fuente cigars. Im no tobacanist. So how do you spot the fakes . All real Cuban cigars are packed in boxes with what is called the Habanos Seal. Despite the fact that the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras manufacture most of the worlds bestcigarsthese days, cigar smokers still jump at the chance to buy Cubans. I can see clearly now the lid is glass they're fake. New York, NY 10019, Save your money (and your palates) by following these eight key tips to avoid getting burned by a . Quality cigars are tripa larga, which means they have been made with whole tobacco leaves. Fake cigars are often sold for unrealistically low prices, and a savvy cigar aficionado should know to beware when a cigar is too great a bargain. This is especially true if you decide to buy from an unknown seller. And the other number shows is the month and the year when the cigars were boxed (see below). . Edicin Limitadas are heavily faked. This makes the cigars feel very soft to the touch. Site Map | Privacy Policy 2018 All Rights Reserved. Most real bands are embossed, meaning they are textured, not smooth. Cubas famous Cohiba brand is one of the most counterfeited cigars in the world. ?More on that later. In counterfeit Cohiba boxes, this error is almost always made. Now, about that box of fake Arturo Fuente cigars. Any box of authentic Cuban cigars must have attached on the outside a warranty seal. If we are facing one of these boxes, we are facing a 100% counterfeit product. A password reset link will be sent to you by email. Front and center on the band is a holographic image of the famous Taino Indian head. There are certain attributes about Cuban cigars that differentiate them from non-Cubans. If a vendor offers you an Esplendido for 10 CUC, it's not the real deal. Old Seal. Like all things, Cuban cigars have a production cost. If the packaging looks suspicious, the contents probably are, too. Today, however, youll see the boxes marked as Totalmente a Mano. This is a clear indicator the person you are dealing with is selling you a fake, as no real Cubans come with more than one band. Among the more commonly seen efforts are boxes with glass tops. Your email address will not be published. Behik-isn't / Befake Childrens Parks and Playgrounds in the Cayman Islands, Run down to Harquail Theatre for comedy revue, Cuban in Cayman: A prisoner in a free land, The great escape: Cubans fight waves as big as mountains to reach Cayman, Special report: Inside the Cuban migration crisis, Cuban migration costs nears $3 million for 2022, Broken-down Cuban vessel sparks rescue in waters off Cayman Brac, Travelled to Cuba recently? This has been the case since 2013. It should also usually bend up to the front right over the center of the Cote dArms. Inspect, feel and smell the cigars. That also makes the Cohiba Behike one of the most widely counterfeited cigars in the world. Dupont Collection Pays Homage To Paris, 2022 Big Smoke Las Vegas Seminars: Blend Ambitions With Dewars And . Thats a little more work and expense than most counterfeiters want to do. It often look like it has been badly printed. Cuba has always been very proud of its famous 'Habano' cigars. Starting from 1999, the warranty seal introduced new features. So if the box of cigars we are about to buy looks like a crazy bargain, there is probably something wrong. The famous Cohiba on white background with a square, gold border is embossed with proper gilding. These cigars retail, on average, between $30-$50, higher than that for the really limited ones. Of course, the name of the cigar company was stamped after this. Cigar Aficionado Online, M. Shanken Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. They are among the most counterfeited cigars. A lot of the so called 'fakes' are actually stolen and smuggled out of the factories. Yes, at one time Cuban cigars reallywerethe best and had virtually no competition. If you think the price of Romeo y Julieta Cuban cigars is too good to be true, you are buying fakes. Real Cuban cigars are packed in boxes marked with the Habanos seal in the upper-right corner. This test is useful only if you know the type of cigars you wanna check on. Online is still restricted, but restrictions or not, the desire to smoke Cuban cigars continues to tug at the heartstrings of American cigar smokers. By the type of leaves present we mean if the filler (or tripa) of the cigar is made from tobacco leaves. The only time the seal wont bend up like this and go over the Cote dArms is on very large cigar boxes. You have to be familiar with the exact shade of red on a Partagas, for example, not to mention other brands. A reader of mine once sent me a box of counterfeit Arturo Fuente cigars and it was obvious the bands had been cheaply printed, most likely on a laser printer. The same goes for that vendor on a Caribbean beach. Please verify your age to enter. The bands themselves are often telling, as fake bands often lack embossing, proper color and the right details found on the original article. 5) Embossed Lettering Cigar test 9. However, note also that the months are Spanish abbreviations, not English. Including Cigar Accessories & Boveda Products. Produced by Vrijdag Premium Printing in the Netherlands, the Cohiba band shown here combines a beautiful, modern design with the latest in security measures that make it significantly more difficult to counterfeit. The Cohiba Behike is distinguished by the use of medio tiempo tobacco leaves in its blend. Your email address will not be published. Even in very old boxes we can find seals, but they are called Union Seal. Some Cuban cigars come in various packagesothers dont. You can learn more about where to buy the best cigars in Cuba at Holt's! The bottom of the box of real handmade Cubans has. Furthermore, the seals are missing. Although many fake Cuban cigar bands maylookauthentic and in some rare cases are its not unusual to find bands with spelling errors, poor alignment, the wrong color and/or typeface, missing embossing, and in the case offake Cohiba cigars, the wrong size or number of white squares on the band. . Check out Cigar Aficionado's newsletters, bringing you our latest ratings & reviews, cigar news and our guide to the good life. One good clue isembossing. Squeeze the cigar to feel if it's firm all the way through. New Seal. If the box is bought outside Cuba, we can also find the importer seal. If youre lucky. Cohiba has been using a security hologram band featuring the head of an Indian since 2010, but in 2014 they added additional data that allows consumers to identify the original brand from any country in the world, while also providing information on the distributor and bill number, among other details. 2. The name cohba derives from the Tano word for "tobacco". Is it because theyre still considered forbidden fruit, or is it that many cigar smokers believe Cuban cigars are the best? Lets sat that 90% of the listed Cuban cigars are fakes. This is due to the minerals in the tobacco grown in Cuba. So, that makes the Behike a limited edition by default. In 2009, a hologram was added on the right side and the placement of the serial code was moved. This lends power to the cigar. I paid twenty dollars for a box of five just couldnt get the price lower but couldnt resist the souvenir. J.A. Cigar Aficionado Online, M. Shanken Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. If the price sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The purchase will also further expand STGs portfolio of top-rated premium cigars worldwide. Its common sense that you dont get real cubans for a bargain if they dont have a special sale or anything, which doesnt happen regulary, cause they know what their cigars are worth. Box type It is therefore difficult to find yourself in front of a box that doesnt feature it. That said, most leaves will still have to be long as the cigar length. Take Cohiba, for example. How to Spot a Fake vs. A Real Cuban Montecristo, How to Spot a Fake vs. Real Cuban Romeo y Julieta Cigar. Gary Korb has been writing and editing content for CigarAdvisor.com since its debut in 2008. If your Cuban doesnt have a band on it, odds are, its a fake. 1 Aug 2018 Last Updated: 20 Jan 2023. Look for the Cuban seal of authenticity with a hologram and bar code to help you avoid fake Cuban cigars. You don't need to take a chance. Currently, this cigar is sold for more than $ 30. Sometimes unknown sellers can sell perfectly real, great Cuban cigars. . Nine White Squares: Nine rows of white squares run in a checkered pattern to the solid gold line that stretches across the bottom third of the band. Repeating Logos & Checkerboard: The holographic Indian head logos and the boxes will repeat along the bottom and top edges. Cubans were the best and great period but during the cigar boom they peed into their own pot of tea and muddied their QUALITY and yes, OFTEN tims OTHER countries can produce better sticks, and some I believe also get a little real Cuban baccy in their own blends its ALL in the taste of a REAL Cuban. It only features the HABANOS written. This verification is one of the most accurate, and in many cases we will realize that the box is counterfeit precisely from this. This new stamp read: Habanos s. a. The Esplndido, in particular, became hugely popular and immediately became a prime target for counterfeiters. Everything checks out but no date on the bottom. Smokes great. If you see Cuban cigars sold in a partial glass or plastic box, they are probably fake. I just got a large box of Cohiba from Cuba. Phillies Titan Cigar Review. (The Cuban Partags should not be confused with the non-Cuban Partagas that shares the same name, but is manufactured in the Dominican Republic by General Cigar Co.) Cuba's Partags brand is large and includes the rich and bold Lusitania, a double corona, as well as one of the best-selling handmade cigars from Cuba, the robusto-sized Serie . So is the 10 CUC Cohiba. - Cigar Advisor. Holographic Elements: Holograms of the word Cuba and the Taino Indian head repeat on the gilded top edge. 5000 | Same day delivery in Lahore & Karachi (selected areas) on selected items via Card Machine (POS) Payment. Now, Ive heard from some that the cuo is not necessarily on all boxes, but Id play it safe and stay away if its not present along with the Habanos, S.A., Hecho en Cuba, and Totalmente a mano on the bottom. Otherwise this analysis will be useful only to get a feedback on the quality of the tobacco used, long story short, if the cigar is good or not. Holograms of the word Cuba and the Taino Indian head logo repeat on the gilded top edge of the band. If the cigar burns white ash, thats a bad sign. A documentation must be present in the boxes. CIGAR CUT (CUT OPEN THE CIGAR AND LEAVES CHECK). The veins should be very fine or barely visible. Here are the keys: Real Cuban cigars are packed in boxes marked with the Habanos seal in the upper-right corner. No, seriously. If theyre made by hand it will also say, Cuban cigars do not come packaged withcellos. If you dont have that kind of experience, then you are far better off staying away from the back alleys and buying from a main-street seller who you know, and can prove, is legit. Know Your Cigar Boxes. A genuine box of Cuban cigars should have all of the following five attributes: Not unlike counterfeit cigar bands, the bottom of the box may be missing some of this key information; it could have typos, and may even be printed with different fonts. Maybe they want $300 for the box. Period. But these leaves are in short supply because they are present in only about 10 to 15 percent of Cuban tobacco plants. Familiarize yourself on how Cuban cigars are packaged, and you greatly reduce the chances of being ripped-off. Dont buy them. Thats not to say you cant buy a legitimate Cuban cigar in the U.S. or online, you simply need to be more careful. Cuban claims he has been losing more than 500 followers a day despite being subscribed to Twitter Blue. . There are certain attributes about Cuban cigars that differentiate them from non-Cubans. So is the 10 CUC Cohiba. The line these hustlers use to close the sale is usually something like,My brother works at the El Rey Del Mundo factory. If you're looking for real cuban cigars, you've got to have all the details. This documentation varies from box to box, depending on whether the box belongs to the normal production or to limited editions, regional editions or other not ordinary series. The lack of Cuo or if it features wrong codes, are in fact a very valid method to understand if the box is counterfeit. Heres another problem. The first seal of this type was introduced in 1902. To help prevent this, in 2010 Habanos S.A. designed a new seal using watermarks, a super-strong adhesive, a hologram on the right side of the seal, and a bar code on the left. Do not buy Cubans that are in a box without a hologram. For example, the head on the label should be a holograph. Your email address will not be published. They have about six different brands claiming to be Cuban but they have no bands. I purchased two boxes of Cuban cigars from a street guy in Costa Rica while staying at The Hotel Del Rey. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. No ridges or collars. I suspect that of the dozens of Esplndidos that Ive smoked, most of which were given to me, a good third of them have been fakes. JRCigars.com is not responsible for typographical errors. When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. Send any questionable Cuban band(s), along with a brief description of how/where you obtained the cigar(s), to our office address below. This guide will help you tell fake Cuban cigars from the real thing. Cuban wrappers tend to be naturally oily with a smooth, buttery appearance and entirely even in color. A graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, prior to his career in the cigar business, Gary worked in the music and video industry as a marketer and a publicist. Does the box of cigars youre buying have a glass, Lucite or otherwise clear lid? If youre offered a barber-pole cigar a cigar with two wrappers of different colors its not real because there is no real Cuban cigar made this way. One is a secret code that tells the industry which factory made the cigars. He says he got them from the factory but they arent boxed. It is a good starting point to quickly understand how the counterfeit cigar boxes look like. Thankfully, there are ways to tell if your Cuban is legit. 2 going for way less or way more than you know they should go for dont buy. Shapira says . You also want to make sure the box has the Cuban warranty seal of authenticity on the left side of the box. If a vendor offers you an Esplendido for 10 CUC, its not the real deal. 8. So what can you do? It is because of this, casual smokers can often be tricked into buying what they think are real Cuban cigars. Ironically, even in Havana there are almost as many counterfeit Cuban cigars as the legit smokes.
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